EB KOYBIE: A memoir of shenanigans between Durban and Bombay

by Ebrahim Essa

"I had five paternal uncles, four in South Africa and one in India. For some reason, each uncle had a son named Ebrahim. What a stupid idea. It made me feel like a sausage from a boerewors factory.” In this part memoir and part satire, Ebrahim Essa chronicles a quirky childhood growing up in the 1950s in an Indian township on the outskirts of the South African port city of Durban. Here, he bunks school to watch Hindi films, irons his brothers clothes to access banned imported comic books and tries to outrun gangsters in the Grey Street Casbah. Just as he begins to win at life, apartheid education prompts his father to send him to India to study. He spends 21 days on board the SS Karanja nervously snacking on Lemon Creams before reaching Bombay. But studying in India isn’t all that it’s made out to be. It’s worse. He battles jaundice, long-drop toilets and electricity cuts during the ‘65 India-Pakistan war. Ebrahim Essa tickles and pokes even as he documents a fascinating period in the South African Indian community. About the Ebrahim Essa is a comic-book and Hindi film aficionado based in Durban. He taught high school Physical Science for 30 years before retiring in 2016. He is a widely published letter writer to various newspapers across South Africa, the author of “The Life Story of Suliman Essa Patel” and was also a contributor to the anthology Undressing Durban (Madiba Press, 2007). EB Koybie is his first book.

222 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 26, 2019

About the author

Ebrahim Essa is a comic-book and Hindi film aficionado based in Durban. He taught high school Physical Science for 30 years before retiring in 2016. He is a widely published letter writer to various newspapers across South Africa, the author of “The Life Story of Suliman Essa Patel” and was also a contributor to the anthology Undressing Durban (Madiba Press, 2007). EB Koybie is his first book.

Reviews

[Hafsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a light-hearted, but wonderfully written memoir by Ebrahim Essa. He writes about growing up during apartheid in Durban, South Africa in an Indian Muslim family, and then traveling to Bombay for college and his experience there in the 1960s.

The book is funny, insightful, and doesn't take itself too seriously. It gives a series of important vignettes from the author's childhood to early adulthood, that form a compelling image of South Africa at that time, and in particular the challenges and experiences of South Africa's Indian Muslim community.

I would recommend it to all--it is truly a book that will interest both an older and younger generation.

[atiya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's a quick read because it is so funny and light. The hilarious lines in the book are breezy, delivered without much fanfare. They tell the story and are so specific to the texture of the author's life and voice that you are pulled into the text. At the same time, there are some serious elements, as the book gives the reader a sense of what life was like in South Africa, primarily, as well as India. Apartheid, class, migration, family - these are covered through the eyes of a young Indian boy in South Africa. It left me wondering what would happen next. I hope to see a sequel that picks up where this one leaves off.

[Mrinali Dhembla · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a beautiful book. The prose is easy to read but touches your soul. Also, it is always brilliant to hear the voices of the diaspora. The book is a 100 percent recommended

[Sheena Fazili · Rating 5 out of 5]

An eloquent and witty account that takes you on a vivid journey into two different but similar worlds of South Africa and India, and how beautifully these worlds shape the experiences of the curious author.

[Muhammed Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set against the backdrop of Apartheid, EB Koybie provides a glimpse into the life and experiences of many Indian migrants who found their way to the east coast of South Africa during apartheid, searching for better livelihoods. Essa's whimsical and satirical style takes the reader on a comical adventure that grapples with very serious socioeconomic realities affecting the generally improverished Indian immigrants and first generation South African-born Indians. Essa's love for adventure, comic books and film feature strongly in the story of his upbringing and young adulthood. From creating his own tales to impress his classmates, to avoiding shifty and sadistic religious teachers, Essa introduces us to an array of weird and wonderful characters and experiences. The book is presented in a convenient short story format which makes it very easy to pick up and read at will.

This is the story of a man with an extraordinary imagination as he deals with the struggles of growing up in a complex and confusing world, ever-changing in front of his young eyes.

Highly recommended!